The Slaughter Stand-Up comedy celebration rolls into Characters Friday night for an evening of insults, agita and astute commentary.

With Sloatsburg as its home base of operations, the Slaughter comedy collective has increased it’s reach throughout the Lower Hudson Valley. Continue Reading

A Sunday night Sparkill, NY fire, sparked by a space heater, damaged two buildings and put two families and some 21 people out into the cold. Firefighters arrived to a scene with flames shooting from several buildings, but were able to quickly tamp down the blaze.

Bill Demarest reported in Nyack Free Press first wrote on the incident and contributed to this report. Rockland County Director of Fire and Emergency Services Gordon Wren Jr. said Monday that a heater in an upstairs apartment unit was too close to clothing and led to the fire.

Firefighters of Sparkill’s John Paulding Engine Co. No. 1 were assisted by volunteer firefighters from Piermont, Orangeburg, Blauvelt, Nyack, Tappan and Northvale, N.J in a weekend Sparkill blaze. / Bill Demarest

Wren sent out the message urging Rockland County residents to use extreme caution with these electric space heaters. “With more extreme cold coming, we want people to be careful how they use these space heaters,” Wren said.

Wren said that Rockland County has experienced repeated incidents over the years involving electric space heaters, stressing caution in where people place their electric heaters, especially in bedrooms. Clothing, blankets, paper, and other items placed on heaters have caused major fires, such as Sunday’s Sparkill blaze, said Wren.

Sunday’s fire damaged two buildings, including the Roost restaurant and La Bomba Grocery, while landing four families that lived in upstairs apartments out in the cold.

The American Red Cross reported that it assisted 21 adults and four children in four families, related to the Sparkill blaze, providing emergency shelter for one family that did not have any place to go.

Firefighters of Sparkill’s John Paulding Engine Co. No. 1 were assisted by volunteer firefighters from Piermont, Orangeburg, Blauvelt, Nyack, Tappan and Northvale, N.J.

Firefighters worked in frigid temperatures, dousing the blaze while carefully maneuvering on in icy conditions. With several pockets of fire flaring up, firefighters eventually had to cut holes into the roof on the third story of one building to reach fire in the attic.

There were no injuries in Sunday’s Sparkill fire.

Space heater tips: 

• Electric heaters should be plugged directly into the wall outlet. If an extension cord is necessary, use the shortest possible heavy-duty cord of 14-gauge wire or larger. 
• Always check and follow any manufacturer’s instructions pertaining to the use of extension cords.
• Buy a unit with a tip-over safety switch, which automatically shuts off the heater if the unit is tipped over.
• Keep heaters away from clothing and other material that can catch fire.
• Use caution in the placement of the heater – don’t put an electric heater on top of a television or a plastic table.
• If you are using an extension cord, if it is thinner than the cord on the heater itself get a heavier extension cord.
• Don’t put a heater too close to a bed. Blankets, sheets, clothing and other items frequently fall off beds and can land on the heater.
• Don’t leave a space heater unattended.
• Replace aging space heaters with new models.
• Make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in good working condition.  

Photos and information courtesy of Bill Demarest and Nyack Free Press.

A big weekend is coming up, with much of the Hudson Valley overtaken by Super Bowl fever. The big game takes place in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

Closer to home, on Saturday, February 1, the 87th Annual Daily News Golden Gloves Bouts will kock-about at the Joseph T. St. Lawrence Center in Hillburn. Bouts begin at 3 p.m. Continue Reading

Linda Leghorn / Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce / Cancer Treatment of America

The Tuxedo community experienced the passing of one of its own recently. Linda Leghorn, a spirited  light who fought against odds, and gave hope and a message of inspiration to those she met.

You can find more of her story here and here. An energized member of the Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce, the chamber remembered Linda in the following tribute.

With deep regrets we are saddened about the news that Linda Leghorn, a great friend to Tuxedo, our community, and many residents, passed on January 26th, 2014. Continue Reading

Just a few months into her tenure, Suffern Mayor Trish Abato has heard the familiar complaints loud and clear. From residents to businesses in the village center along Lafayette Avenue to Suffern Chamber of Commerce meetings, community conversation often centers around how to attract more people to the downtown Suffern corridor. Continue Reading

Updated: Traffic backed up Thursday evening in Sloatsburg along Rt. 17 in the center of the village as an apparently drunk driver engaged in a bout of live action bumper car.

Police direct traffic during the Thursday evening accident on Rt. 17 in Sloatsburg.

According to Steve Lieberman in LoHud, 71-year old James Bryant was charged with DWI, driving without a license, as well as a few other citations, after he rammed two other vehicles and then came to a stop on the side of the road, where he sat until police found him. Continue Reading

Interior of the new Rainbow Ace Hardware store in Suffern, NY.

Gone is the tattered facade of the old Suffern OTB across from the train station at Park Place on Orange Avenue. The darkened windows and parking lot pitted with potholes have been replaced by the new clean, well-lighted Rainbow Ace Hardware home supply store. Continue Reading

Map of Novartis plant location. Novartis building photo / Peter Carr / The Journal News

This week the Town of Ramapo and Rockland County had more than high winds and icy snow to battle. Novartis Pharmecuticals, a longtime corporate citizen in Suffern, NY, disclosed Tuesday that the company intended to shutter its huge Suffern campus before 2017. Continue Reading

The big Dakota Whiteout storm served up less snow and than predicted in the Western Ramapo hills. Once again, the Sloatsburg Public Works Department was out early and late — with the one DPW truck clearing roads after 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. Continue Reading

A winter storm alert is in effect for Rockland County though 6 a.m. on Wednesday, January 23 — call it the Dakota Whiteout.

With the recent Polar Vortex reaching its icy paw into the region, plunging temperatures down to zero degrees, the Lower Hudson Valley prepares for another cold blast moving east on the winds and coming in from the Dakotas. Temperatures are expected to dip down below zero Tuesday night, with breezy gusts carrying possibly heavy snow fall Tuesday night through Wednesday early morning.

Due to the forecast, the Ramapo Central School District has announced that students will be on early dismissal Tuesday, January 21. The early dismissal schedule is as follows: 

The incoming winter storm is expected to bring gusts of up to 30 mph and drop four to eight inches of snow in parts of Rockland. A winter storm warming for the area was issued by the National Weather Service. T

The Ramapo Central School District will make any announcements regarding Wednesday school schedule at a later time.